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Readiness Cities - Austin

"Winning the Smart Cities Council Challenge Grant puts us that much closer to creating a comprehensive and inclusive strategy to use technology in a way that benefits communities that are usually left behind."
—Mayor Steve Adler

While Austin is thriving, success hasn’t been shared equally. The city’s 1928 master plan drove black residents to the eastern part of the city; prosperity rose everywhere else. Austin is one of the most economically-segregated metropolitan areas in the country.
In Austin today there’s a firm belief that smart cities technologies are the tools that will finally allow the city to sharply reduce that segregation, providing an opportunity that hasn’t existed before.

From managing rising seas to developing strategies to help those who aren’t typically helped by big city projects, the first five Smart Cities Council Readiness Challenge winners have made progress over the past year. Here’s what they’re up to.

One of five U.S. cities winning Smart Cities Council Challenge Grants, the City of Austin made progress on its pledge to take on tough challenges to improve lives of disadvantaged residents during a Readiness Workshop.

By population growth, Austin is one of the most successful cities in the U.S. By economic segregation, though, it ranks at the bottom. Learn how our first Readiness Challenge Grant winner plans to change that.

Consistently one of America’s fastest-growing cities, Austin is busy working on strategies to improve livability as people continue to move in. And it’s starting with people who would use the boost the most.